Robot Cleaner Homing Signals for Fast, Accurate Charger Docking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Robot cleaners often fail to locate chargers efficiently, leading to battery exhaustion before reaching the charger, due to inadequate navigation methods that require long travel times and may not ensure proper docking.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a homing signal transmitter with multiple signal transmitters at the charger and a homing signal receiver on the robot cleaner, using infrared signals with distinct codes and transmission distances to guide the robot back to the charger, allowing for precise and rapid navigation and docking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the robot cleaner uses conventional navigation methods to locate the charger, then the robot can eventually reach the charger, but the travel time is long and the battery may exhaust before docking
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an infrared signal transmitter at the charger location as an intermediary guide. The robot cleaner uses its infrared receiver to detect these signals, which act as a mediator to guide the robot directly to the charger without requiring complex navigation or mapping, significantly reducing travel time while ensuring reliable charger location.
2Measurement precision
If the robot cleaner uses simple navigation without signal guidance, then the device complexity is low, but the robot cannot accurately locate or dock with the charger
Solution Approach 1:
The infrared signal transmitter serves as a simple yet effective intermediary that provides precise directional information to the robot. This approach achieves high location precision through signal detection rather than complex navigation algorithms, keeping the overall system complexity low while enabling accurate charger localization and docking.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables the robot cleaner to quickly and accurately return to the charger, reducing the risk of battery exhaustion and ensuring efficient charging by prioritizing infrared signals and calculating optimal paths for docking.
Implementation Method 1
receiving at least one infrared signal from the charger
Data Source
AI summary
A system for returning a robot to a charger includes: a homing signal transmitter, including at least first, second, and third signal transmitters, each adapted to be provided at a front side of the charger and to respectively transmit signals which are different from each other in at least one of a code and a transmission distance, and a fourth signal transmitter, adapted to be provided on at least one lateral side of the charger and to transmit a signal which is different from the signals of the first, second, and third transmitters in code; a homing signal receiver provided at the robot and to receive at least one signal transmitted from the homing signal transmitter; and a controller adapted to identify the at least one signal and to control the robot to return to the charger based at least in part on the at least one signal.